She Became My Friend’s Mother-In-Law - Chapter 127

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 127. Recent Rumors (1)
Cecilia and Rainer visited the Imperial Palace for the first time in a while.
The Palace Gardens, where a warm breeze drifted, remained as dazzlingly magnificent as ever.
The fragrance of flowers wafted between the meticulously tended flower beds.
Water droplets cascading over the fountain caught the sunlight and sparkled.
Gazing upon that peaceful scene,
the recent tumults felt as though they belonged to a distant land.
“It has been quite some time, Duchess.”
The Crown Princess Mary greeted Cecilia with a radiant smile.
Rainer was in the Crown Prince’s study with Nicholas.
The ladies had decided to spend time together separately.
Mary grasped Cecilia’s hand warmly.
“Come this way. I have prepared quite a lot.”
Mary led Cecilia into a sunlit greenhouse.
A fragrant tea and elaborate refreshments were already arranged on the table.
‘Thank goodness.’
Cecilia felt relieved to see no alcohol, as she inwardly sighed.
The memory of drinking with Mary, one of the Imperial Court’s most notorious drinkers,
and then, thoroughly intoxicated, grabbing Rainer by the collar and kissing him, still made her dizzy.
“Come now, do sit down.”
Mary gestured and took her seat first.
Cecilia settled into the chair across from her.
Mary poured tea as if she had been waiting and launched into various stories.
“At the last banquet, some noblewoman wore such an enormous feathered ornament that the person sitting behind her couldn’t see a thing.”
Mary laughed with delight, and Cecilia smiled in response.
“It seems that noblewoman was the true star of the evening.”
“Truly. His Highness laughed heartily when he heard about it later.”
The two women laughed together.
Yet Cecilia noticed something.
Mary was deliberately avoiding uncomfortable topics.
The recent incidents that had stirred Brisen,
and the uncomfortable names that had graced the headlines, never surfaced.
It was her thoughtful consideration.
‘She truly is a woman of great depth.’
Cecilia’s eyes softened with warmth.
As they sipped tea and conversed, Cecilia suddenly spoke.
“Oh, that reminds me—when are you planning the next salon? If you need assistance, the Hays Ducal House would be delighted to help.”
“…Ah. The salon.”
At those words, Mary paused ever so briefly.
Then a playful smile curved her lips.
“I appreciate your kindness, but… truthfully, I’ve come upon a very significant reason to suspend the salon for some time.”
“A significant reason?”
“Yes, the same reason I cannot drink alcohol today.”
Mary set down her teacup and carefully placed her hand over her belly.
Cecilia blinked at the sight.
“Your Highness, surely not?”
“Yes.”
Mary giggled shyly.
Her face overflowed with boundless joy.
“Our Crown Prince will have a younger sibling.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. It’s still early, so I must be cautious, but the Imperial Physician assured me the child is healthy.”
Mary spoke with flushed cheeks, saying that aside from the Imperial family, Cecilia was the first to know.
Her face had turned crimson.
“My goodness, I offer you my heartfelt congratulations.”
Cecilia extended her genuine felicitations.
Nicholas and Mary, whom she had observed over time, bickered as usual.
Yet they were endlessly tender parents to the Crown Prince.
The second child would surely grow up showered in their boundless love.
“How is your health?”
“I tire more easily than usual, but I’m well. The Physician actually advised me to move about more. Without his counsel, I would have been confined under the Crown Prince’s watchful eye without a moment’s freedom.”
Mary shook her head with a wry smile.
Indeed, Nicholas had been hovering at her side until she came to the conservatory.
Now understanding the reason, Cecilia could no longer suppress her laughter.
The two ladies’ delighted laughter echoed together.
Soon Mary withdrew an envelope from beside her and extended it to Cecilia.
“A banquet to commemorate this child will be held soon. Since I’m inviting you first among my guests, you simply must attend.”
* * *
News of Mary’s pregnancy spread swiftly through Brisen society.
The Imperial Palace would soon hold a banquet to celebrate the occasion.
Carriages bearing noblewomen lined up and converged upon the central Town Square of the Capital Brisen.
Nancy Devlin was among them.
She traveled by carriage alongside the Marquess Rummel’s Wife, a relative of her husband.
“Sigh…”
Once, when she had clung to Rosena and gleefully sought out Cecilia’s flaws, she had been endlessly entertained.
But lately, her expression had grown far less bright.
Intimidated by Cecilia, the Duchess, she found no joy in society anymore.
And her husband’s gambling addiction had only worsened, leaving their estate nearly empty.
Rumors of separation had even begun to circulate.
“Do stop sighing, Nancy.”
The Marquess Rummel’s Wife clicked her tongue from across the room.
“And straighten your posture. If you look so defeated, anyone would think those rumors are true.”
After sending her only son abroad to Tarand for his studies,
the Marquess’s Wife had taken to interfering with Nancy whenever the opportunity arose, as if she had nothing better to do.
‘I thought it was fortunate my mother-in-law died early, but now I’m suffering under my aunt-in-law’s tyranny.’
Nancy swallowed a sigh inwardly.
But her opponent was the Marquess’s Wife.
There was nothing she could do but smile and endure.
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“Being careful is the bare minimum.”
The Marquess Rummel’s Wife opened her fan and clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
Then she picked up the Brisen Tribune that lay beside her.
The front page was filled with various news about the Hays Ducal Family.
“Tsk, the Dowager Duchess passed away like that, yet you can act so unbothered?”
The Marquess’s Wife clicked her tongue in displeasure.
She had been acquainted with Elise during her lifetime.
Naturally, she viewed Cecilia with equal disdain.
“Regardless of the murder accusations, she was still your mother-in-law. The funeral was far too modest. That Duchess is utterly shameless.”
The Marquess’s Wife shook her head disapprovingly.
Though she had no daughter-in-law of her own yet,
she already possessed all the qualities of a terrible mother-in-law.
She harbored particular disdain for the young women of society, especially Cecilia.
“That’s right, Aunt.”
The moment gossip about Cecilia, whom she usually disliked, surfaced, Nancy eagerly joined in.
Her eyes, which had been sighing heavily moments before, suddenly gleamed.
“Cecilia Hays is truly despicable. Before, she even had noblewomen come over to see Evan Machi in a state of undress.”
“What? Is that really true?”
“Yes, she pretended to be frequenting 62nd Street to humiliate him. I heard from Rosena Osburn at the time, and I brought the noblewomen there, and my face was burning with shame.”
“Wait, Rosena Osburn?”
The Marquess’s Wife’s voice rose.
“Don’t tell me you’re still going around claiming to be acquainted with that woman? She’s a murderer!”
“What? That can’t be!”
Nancy quickly waved her hands in denial.
But the Marquess’s Wife, having seized upon this opening, had already begun her tirade.
Starting with how she disapproved of Nancy’s association with Rosena,
she criticized Nancy’s judgment of character,
and eventually arrived at the absurd notion that her husband was gallivanting about outside.
Nancy felt as though her ears might bleed.
‘Please, someone save me!’
Just then, the carriage came to a stop in front of the Jewelry Shop, their destination.
A moment longer and she might have covered her ears with both hands.
Nancy barely caught her breath.
Then, a diamond necklace displayed in the center of the jewelry shop captured her gaze.
“My goodness.”
The transparent diamond sparkled from a new angle each time it caught the light.
It was as though tiny stars were densely embedded along the necklace.
Nancy found herself holding her breath.
“Is this the first diamond discovered in the Desert this time?”
Nancy’s eyes gleamed as she read the placard before her.
Swallowing hard, Nancy called over a staff member and asked carefully.
“How much is this?”
Though her household finances were strained due to her gambling-addicted husband.
If she put it on credit, surely she could manage.
After all, it was important to demonstrate at the upcoming Imperial Palace Banquet that House of Devlin remained prosperous.
But the staff member assisting her looked troubled.
“Ah, that piece has already been ordered by someone else.”
“What?”
In that instant, Nancy’s mood soured considerably.
Already consumed by a victim’s mentality, she felt the staff member was disrespecting her.
“Who just asked about that? I clearly asked what the price was!”
“I-I’m terribly sorry, madam!”
As Nancy huffed indignantly, the staff members hastily bowed their heads.
It was then.
“Is there some problem with my necklace?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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